Is Marijuana an Illegal Drug or a Medicine?

Iowans have been turning to marijuana for their medical ailments despite their Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley's opinion. Grassley, who recently is working to prohibit all discussion regarding medical marijuana in a bill to amend drug policy. However, the citizens of Iowa have a different opinion and many are pulling to have medical marijuana legalized. According to the Iowa AP, "opponents claim marijuana is already the state's most abused drug and the problem will only worsen if it's allowed for medical use". A lot of people still hold on to and are not willing to let go of the idea that marijuana is the gateway drug that leads to the abuse of all other drugs. However, that idea has come under serious debate in the last few years and doctors are professing the medical benefits of marijuana; alcohol is generally considered more damaging then marijuana these days.

"The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has held four hearings in recent months to seek scientific evidence and testimony on the topic. That review could lead to a recommendation to state lawmakers whether to change Iowa laws", stated the Iowa AP. More people in Iowa are speaking out for legalization than there are against it; very few people have expressed their opposition which is kind of surprising to many people. Thirteen states are now allowing the use of medical marijuana, very few states have set up dispensaries as of this point but more are expected to pop up in the near future.

The fact still remains that marijuana is addictive and affects the brain and lungs in a negative way. Will legalizing medical marijuana send out the wrong message to young people? Medical marijuana use could very possibly spike addiction rates in the coming months and that data will give people a better idea of the societal effects of medical marijuana. Before any kind of decision in Iowa is made, Dr. Ron Herman the director of the University of Iowa's Drug Information Network said, more research is needed.

2008 Zogby Poll - Three Out of Four Americans said the War on Drugs is Failing

Is it time to reform our criminal justice system and how we fight the war on drugs? Let's face it, our criminal justice system has a fatal flaw and as a result people are imprisoned needlessly all in the name of America's "War on Drugs". It is unacceptable that the United States has 5 percent of the world's population, but houses 25 percent of the world's prisoners. The majority of those prisoners are low level offenders generally incarcerated because of drugs; half of federal prisoners and 21 percent of state prisoners are locked up because of something drug related. Perhaps it is time for rational debate on drug policy, that's what the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) seek. In a 2008 Zogby poll, three out of four Americans said the war on drugs is failing.


Overall, Congress is afraid to address the drug war subject because it can be political suicide; the lack of involvement has allowed this problem to fester and now we have a criminal justice nightmare. "Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, and 35 other senators are sponsoring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act (NCJCA) to establish a blue ribbon commission to review our criminal justice system", reports the Desmoines Register. Sen. Chuck Grassley wants, regarding the bill, to prohibit any discussion or examination of the possibility that drugs, including medical marijuana, should be decriminalized or legalized despite there being evidence that removing prohibition could help out the criminal justice system and help fight the cartels.


More and more people are arguing that if any real change is going to happen with the criminal justice system in America it will start with changing how we fight the war on drugs. We have to ask ourselves what the cost of this war is, and why people who belong in drug treatment are ending up in prison. Prison is no place for a low level drug offender, and those are the people the war on drugs is targeting. If we spent as much time on going after the cartel as we did individual drug addicts perhaps we would see some positive developments. It does not seem like we can afford to ignore any suggestions, even if they involve some form of legalization, as long as it can help.

Senator Webb Introduces Bill to Overhaul America's Criminal Justice System Video. While this video is almost 10 minutes long, Senator Webb eloquently addresses the issues discussed above.